CybersecurityWhite House threatens to veto House cybersecurity bill

The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto the cybersecurity bill drafted by the House of Representatives. The house is expected to vote on the bill later this week. The cybersecurity bill died in the Senate last August after the White House said it would veto the bill.

Yahoo News reports that in a repeat of last summer, the Obama administration issued a new veto threat over the bill, which is co-authored by House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers. The  administration says the legislation needs to  protect private information better, and that it gives too much liability protection to companies.

“The Administration still seeks additional improvements and if the bill, as currently crafted, were presented to the president, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill,” the White House  said Tuesday.

To secure  White House support and address the objections  of civil liberty groups, the Intelligence Committee made changes to the wording of the bill, but these changes only made the panel’s proposal  similar to the bill which  was unsuccessful last year.

The changes include a provision which prevents companies from using information they receive for anything but cybersecurity purposes, and added roles for privacy and civil liberty oversight.

“The Committee adopted several amendments to (the bill) in a good faith effort to incorporate some of the administration’s important substantive concerns. However (it) … still does not address these fundamental priorities adequately,” Caitlin Hayden, a National Security Council spokeswoman, said. 

The White House has been seeking a more comprehensive bill, which would set minimum security standards for critical companies. Michelle Richardson of the American Civil Liberties Union said the veto threat was “completely justified” and that the bill has an uncertain future in the Senate.